**PHONE DISCLAIMER** Phone service is offered for informational purposes only. Although I will make every effort to thoroughly address your questions, you must not take action on this information until you have reviewed it with your treating physician. Again, as I have not examined you in person you should not base any testing or treatment decisions on the information given in this phone call, and you must instead work in person with your treating health care provider to make such decisions. Failure to do so could result in serious illness or death. A phone call with Dr. Lemanne is not a medical consultation, and does not establish a d0ctor-patient relationship.

Before you arrive, Dr. Lemanne spends time reviewing your medical records. She likes to familiarize herself with every aspect of your case, down to the smallest details. In those details lie important clues, clues often overlooked by harried oncologists forced by tight scheduling to move quickly from patient to patient.

This intensive review can take up to an hour, sometimes two. If you come to our clinic in person, a careful physical exam is also performed. During this examination, Dr. Lemanne looks for subtle findings unnoticed in a cursory exam. She also looks for changes in your condition that may affect treatment recommendations.

With those details in hand, Dr. Lemanne will discuss with you options that make sense in your case. To gather those options, she reaches into her nearly 3 decades of experience while also combing through the world’s medical knowledge base for the latest, relevant and most effective options for your condition.

If your case is highly specialized, she will identify and contact world-class researchers in your condition at major cancer centers, and will solicit their thoughts on your case.

This is important, because these experts can sometimes provide insights on your condition based on yet-unpublished research findings not available anywhere else.

Dr. Lemanne’s motto at this stage is to leave “no stone unturned.”

She presents your options to you in an easy-to-understand format. This allows you to make the best decisions for yourself or your loved one.

BEYOND CONVENTIONAL OR ALTERNATIVE

Many of today’s conventional medical ideas were once “alternative.” For instance, the connection between diet, exercise and heart health was doubted well into the 20th century, but diet and exercise are now used routinely in the conventional cardiology clinic. Conversely, cancer treatments quite conventional in the past have slid into the realm of the “alternative.” An example is the coffee enema, once proudly listed in the Merck Manual as a treatment for various conditions.

Many (but not all) conventional therapies are carefully vetted by randomized controlled trials. What these trials have taught us is that most conventional cancer treatments work for some, but not all. And some people can be harmed by these treatments. There is a trade-off made between survival and side effects.

By “natural” cancer treatments, people usually mean treatments without side effects. This is admittedly an attractive idea. Alternative cancer treatments are still “alternative” simply because they have been “tested” only by individuals, and in ways that prevent careful thinkers and scientists from concluding that the treatment is likely to work on other people. It may be that the patient recovered, albeit unexpectedly, from the treatment, or–and this is important–for some other reason. I think patients who make unexpected recoveries ought to be carefully studied, in hopes of finding new promising treatments that others can safely benefit from.

The occasional patient for whom the alternative treatment seems to work often claims–sincerely–to have found a new natural “cure” for cancer. And perhaps this is true–the treatment (or something else) worked for this person. However, for every person for whom the alternative treatment helps, there are those it fails. Those failed by alternative cancer cures are rarely heard from, much less counted. If this fact is not understood, a natural cure zealot can unwittingly lead patients with curable cancer to their death.

So when considering a treatment course, whether conventional or alternative, you need to know not only that it has worked for someone, somewhere, but how likely it is to work now, for you. You will also want to know the possible harm that can come from a particular treatment course. Both conventional therapies and alternative cancer treatments can result in side effects or death. The good news is that there are ways to protect yourself from some of these harms while taking advantage of the good inherent in both types of treatment.

Whether your needs are for inital or secondary treatment and recovery, primary prevention, or surveillance and early detection, Oregon Integrative Oncology will help you explore the scientific evidence base (or lack of such) behind any approach that interests you.

PROVIDING COMFORT WITH A QUALITY SECOND OPINION

Oregon Integrative Oncology provides completely independent second opinions. If your condition is particularly difficult to treat, the expertise you need may be rare or difficult to access. In that case, OIO will also find and engage the best doctors in your state–or in the world–to help you. We pride ourselves in locating the particular physicians most skilled in treating your exact condition–to ensure you receive the highest-quality second opinion available.

RESEARCH OPTIONS

If your condition warrants joining a research effort, Oregon Integrative Oncology will help you find open studies for which you are eligible. More importantly, Oregon Integrative Oncology can also help you determine whether joining a particular clinical trial is actually in your best interest.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Most who employ the services of Oregon Integrative Oncology seek an independent second opinion. For those also requesting treatment, Oregon Integrative Oncology employs the latest imaging, blood, and genetic testing, as well as chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, and targeted therapies. We coordinate care with your surgeon and radiation oncologist.

RESEARCH-BASED LIFESTYLE INTERVENTIONS

Oregon Integrative Oncology can help very proactive patients implement lifestyle interventions that science shows support prevention, treatment, and recovery. Depending on your condition and needs, these can include shortterm and intermittent fasting, other dietary adjustments, supervised exercise, and supplement guidance.